Test system for remotely testing switches within a telecommunications network

ABSTRACT

A system for centrally and remotely testing switches of cellular and conventional telecommunications network wherein a controller located at a remote location provides instructions to Remote Call Processor (RCP) to thereby prompt the RCPs to establish a communication link from the RCP through a switch to a destination device whereby audio from said destination device is communicated, by way of the switch and the RCP, to the controller in order to verify that the switch properly routed and billed of the call. The destination device may be a service provided by such network or it may be another RCP.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/799,448,filed Mar. 5, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,542,738 which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/146,606, filed Sep. 3, 1998, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,230,006, which claims priority to a U.S. provisionalapplication Serial No. 60/058,126, filed Sep. 8, 1997, all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a system for testing the operationof a telecommunications network and more specifically to a system forremotely testing one or more switches within a telecommunicationsnetwork.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telecommunications networks can generally be divided into twocomponents, cellular networks and conventional land-line networks. Whilethe cellular networks support wireless telephone services and theland-line networks support conventional telephone service, the networksand services generally overlap in that a user of a wireless telephoneservice can place a phone call through the cellular network to theland-line network to thereby establish a telephone link with aconventional telephone, and conversely, a user of a conventionaltelephone service can place a phone call through the land-line networkto the cellular network to thereby establish a phone link with awireless telephone. Furthermore, in some instances, the cellular networkis comprised of communication links that may, at times, be consideredpart of the land-line network.

There are many cellular networks in place around the United States andthe rest of the world. Generally, a cellular network is bounded by ageographic territory. For example, the AT&T cellular network generallyservices the entire continental United States while the Cellular Onecellular network generally services the east coast of the United States.A cellular network is generally comprised of multiple service areas,each of which is subdivided into multiple cells. Each cell has a basestation for receiving and transmitting phone calls between a mobilephone and the cell, and the base stations are connected to a switchnormally located in a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO). Thenumber of switches required for a service area varies depending on thevolume of calls experienced in the service area. Some service areas haveonly one switch to which all the base stations within the service areaare connected; some have multiple switches such that the base stationswithin the service area are divided between the switches; and some evenshare a switch with other service areas. The MTSO generally manages themultiple switches in the cellular network and maintains a communicationslink between the cellular network and the land-line network.

Functionally, when a call is placed by a wireless phone located within agiven cell of a service area in the cellular network, the cell basestation receives the phone call and forwards it to the service areaswitch where it is forwarded to the destination device. If thedestination device is another wireless phone located in another servicearea of the same cellular network, the service area switch forwards thephone call to the switch of the destination service area where it isforwarded to the bases station of the destination cell for transmissionto the destination wireless phone, thereby establishing a communicationlink between two wireless phones within the same cellular network. Ifthe destination device is a conventional phone, the MTSO directs thecall from the calling service area switch to a switch associated withthe land-line network where the call is connected to the conventionalphone. If the destination device is a wireless phone located in adifferent cellular network, the calling service area switch forwards thephone call through the land-line network to the destination cellularnetwork where it is directed through the switch of destination servicearea to the base station of the destination cell for transmission to thedestination phone, thereby establishing a communication link from thecalling wireless phone to the destination wireless phone by way of thecalling cellular network, the land-line network and the destinationcellular network.

One of skill in the art will understand that a phone call initiated by awireless phone may involve many different switches in many differentnetworks. Generally, the first switch accessed by the caller is the“billing switch” responsible for tracking and recording all the variouscharges associated with the phone call, including enhanced services.Such charges might include basic charges, in-network roaming charges,out-of-network roaming charges, land-line fees, long distance fees orother cellular network fees as will be appreciated by one of skill inthe art. A billing switch that improperly tracks fees associated with aphone call or with any enhanced services provided by the serviceprovider, results in lost revenue to, or over billing by, the serviceprovider. Therefore, it is critical to the service provider that thebilling switches consistently and accurately track and record fees.

Generally, a user of a cellular phone will execute a subscriptionagreement with one or more service providers which allows the user toplace calls within the service providers cellular network. The usergenerally enters subscription agreements with service providers havingcellular networks covering the geographic area in which the usernormally makes phone calls. For purposes of this description, theservice providers with which the user has a subscription agreement willbe referred to as “home” service providers. The various serviceproviders have executed agreements whereby a subscriber to a serviceprovider can use the services of other service providers, subject to afee, and the “home” service provider will appropriately charge thesubscriber.

Every wireless phone contains an Electronic Serial Number (ESN) and aNumbered Assignment Modules (NAMs) which together indicate the “home”service providers to which the phone is associated (hereafter the ESNand the NAM will be collectively referred to as the “NAM”). When awireless phone establishes a phone call, the associated billing switchrecognizes the NAM in order to determine whether the phone iscommunicating with a “home” or “non-home” service provider in order toproperly track and allocate fees. Initiating a call within the networkof a “home” service provider will be charged differently than initiatinga call within the network of a “non-home” service provider. Furthermore,calls initiated within “non-home” service providers will be chargeddifferently depending upon the specific agreement between the non-homeservice provider and the home service provider.

Each billing switch tracks and records the fees associated with a phonecall through use of a “billing table” that is preprogrammed into theswitch by the service provider. The billing table recognizes chargesassociated with each call including any charges for enhanced services(i.e. call waiting) subscribed to by a user. Generally, the switcheswill be reprogrammed with updated billing tables at various timesincluding whenever a new service area is added or removed from thecellular network; whenever a subscriber is added or deleted from theservice provider; whenever the cellular network fees are changed;whenever the agreement between the cellular network and other networkschanges. Furthermore, the hardware and or software of a switch may beperiodically upgraded (e.g., a base station may be added to theswitches' service area or the switch may be reprogrammed with “upgraded”software for bug fixes or feature enhancements). In addition, the switchundergoes maintenance or routing changes that change or effect theinteraction between the switches. The upgrades and maintenance sometimesresult in errors associated with billing and network operations causingthe switch to malfunction as it processes calls. Whenever the switch isreprogrammed, upgraded, or undergoes maintenance, it is critical thatthe service provider have an efficient means for verifying that thevarious switches function properly and correctly track and record fees.

When a call is placed, the numerous switches handling the call areresponsible for properly routing and billing the call. A switch that isinstalled, reprogrammed, upgraded, or maintained improperly may resultin improperly routed and/or billed calls and thus lost revenue to theservice provider. Because switches are being installed in new networksand because switches in existing networks are continuously reprogrammed,upgraded and/or maintained, a system for testing the proper operation ofthe numerous switches within a telecommunications network, and thus theproper routing and billing of calls to and from such network, isnecessary to maintain an efficient network. Presently, there are twosuch types of systems available to service providers, one made byRotodata and the other made by Comarco.

The Comarco system includes a testing device that places a wireless callto a service area of a cellular network where such call is routedthrough the switch associated with the service area to a destinationdevice whereby a communication link is established between the testingdevice and the destination device. The destination device may be amobile or land-line phone offering a pre-recorded audio message that iscommunicated over the established communications link to the user of thetesting device where proper operation of the switch may be confirmed.The testing device may also be equipped with multiple phones such thatthe testing device may establish a communication link from a first oneof said phones to a second one of said phones thereby establishing thetesting device as the destination device. The testing device must belocated “in the field” (e.g., geographically within the service area) soas to be capable of wireless communication with the service area.

One shortfall of the Comarco system is that the testing device isdesigned to be locally controlled in that setting the parameters of thetesting device and/or initiating the test requires a technician to belocated “in the field” with the testing device. This limitation alsorequires that a field technician travel to the various service areas ofthe cellular network in order to test the numerous switches within thenetwork. Another shortfall of the Comarco System is that the testingdevice does not have the capability to record audio received from thedestination device thereby requiring that a technician be located in thefield with the testing device during testing in order for the technicianto hear the quality of the audio received at the test device. Yetanother shortfall of the Comarco system is that the presence of thetechnician in the field prevents the technician from accessing thebilling records of the call, which are normally located in a centraloffice, and therefore from verifying proper billing simultaneously withthe verification of the call. Still yet another shortfall of the Comarcosystem is that it cannot complete calls from one testing device to asecond testing device. A further shortfall of the Comarco system is thatit does not enable the user to verify the audio of the placed call inboth directions without a technician being present at each end of thecall. Yet a further shortfall of the Comarco system is that it cannotinteractively control or measure the testing being performed by thetesting device.

The Rotodata system includes a testing device that places a wirelesscall to a service area of a cellular network where such call is routedthrough the switch associated with the service area to a destinationdevice. Typically, the destination device is a pre-recorded audiomessage that is communicated to the user of the testing device toconfirm proper operation of the switch. Unlike the Comarco system, theRotodata system has remote control feature that permits operation ofmultiple testing devices from a remote location.

One shortfall of the Rotodata system is that the remote capability doesnot permit audio from the testing device to be communicated to theremote control location thereby forcing the user to rely on non-audioinformation in the call verification process. This limitation preventsthe user from remotely verifying whether the audio was received, or thequality of the audio received, at either the testing device or theremote control location and prevents the user from remotely testingservices such as 911 emergency service, voice mail, call forwarding,call waiting, no answer transfer and messaging, and any other servicethat can be verified through an interactive audio process. Accessing theaudio requires the user to be in local control of the testing devicewhich requires the technician to be located in the field with thetesting device. Another shortfall of the Rotodata system is that theremote capability does not permit audio from the remote control locationto be communicated to the testing device or the destination devicethereby preventing the user from audio interaction with either of thedevices. This limitation also prevents the user from testing servicessuch as voice mail, call forwarding, call waiting, no answer transferand messaging or any other service that can be verified through aninteractive audio process. Yet another shortfall of the Rotodata systemis that the remote control is implemented over an unsecured POTS line.Still yet another shortfall of the Rotodata system is that the systemdoes not allow for individual call control of each remote unit. Forexample, the remote units will accept a 24 hour series of commands torun without master control such that the user will lose 24 hours of testif a test error occurs.

Therefore, an object of the invention is a system for remotely testing aswitch of a telecommunications network where audio received at thetesting device is communicated to the remote control location wherebythe user can verify the proper completion of the call, the audioquality, and the billing records.

Another object of the invention is a system for remotely testing aswitch of a telecommunication network where audio from the remotecontrol location is communicated to the testing device.

Yet another object of the invention is a system for remotely testing aswitch of a telecommunication network where audio from the remotecontrol location is communicated through the testing device to thedestination device.

Still yet another object of the invention is a system for remotelytesting a switch of a telecommunications network where such system iscapable of centralized remote management of multiple testing devices andcentralized remote testing of multiple switches.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system for remotelytesting a switch of a telecommunications network where a communicationlink is established from a first testing device through a switch to asecond testing device where the user at a remote control location hasaccess to audio received at the first testing device and the secondtesting device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the controller and the Remote Call Processor ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the system of the present invention.

FIGS. 4-13 are flow diagrams of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is a system for centrally and remotely testingswitches of cellular and conventional telecommunications network whereina controller located at a remote location establishes a communicationlink with a Remote Call Processor (RCP) and provides instructions to theRCP to thereby prompt the RCP to establish a communication link from theRCP through a switch to a destination device whereby audio from saiddestination device is communicated, by way of the switch and the RCP, tothe controller in order to verify that the switch properly routed andbilled the call. The destination device may be a service provided bysuch network or it may be another RCP.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 1, the system of the present invention is a system fortesting a switch 40 of a telecommunications network 50. In a preferredembodiment, the telecommunications network 50 is a cellular networkcomprised of multiple service areas 52 and 54. The system of the presentinvention includes one or more remote call processors (RCPs) 20, 30 anda controller 10. The RCPs 20, 30 include phone means for establishing acommunication link from the RCP 20 through the calling area switch 40 toa destination device such that audio from the destination device iscommunicated to the RCP 20. The destination device may be a prerecordedvoice mail box established by the service provider or, as furtherdescribed below, another RCP 30, or any other device that assists in theverification of the operation of the switch 40.

The controller 10 is for remotely controlling operation of the RCP 20.The controller includes remote communication means for establishing acommunication link between the controller 10 and the RCP 20 such thataudio received at the RCP 20 will be communicated to the controller 10.The controller 10 also includes means for instructing the RCP 20 toinitiate a phone call to the destination device. Functionally, anoperator of the system prompts the controller 10 to establish acommunication link between the controller 10 and the RCP 20 andinstructs the RCP 20 to initiate a phone call to a selected destinationdevice. In response to such instructions, the RCP 20 initiates a phonecall to the destination device and establishes a communication link fromthe RCP 20 through the calling area switch 40 to the destination device(not shown). In this way, audio from the destination device iscommunicated through the calling area switch 40 and the RCP 20 to thecontroller 10. The operator of the system can then evaluate the audioreceived at the controller 10 to determine if the calling area switch 40properly connected the RCP 20 to the destination device. The operatormay further determine if the calling area switch properly switched thecall and billed for the call by reviewing the translation tables andbilling records of the switch, which preferably would be accessible atthe location of the controller 10.

In one embodiment, the destination device may be a voice mail service, acall waiting service, a call forwarding service, a no answer transferservice, a messaging service, a voice recognition service or any otherof the types of services provided in such a network. In such a case, thedestination device may prompt the user, through a pre-recorded voice, toselect from a number of options through use of the telephone keypad. Thepre-recorded voice would be forwarded to the RCP 20, and thus to thecontroller 10, for a response. The controller includes means forinstructing the RCP 20 to respond to such queries. In this way, theoperator may verify the proper operation of the switch 40 by verifyingthat the call was established from the RCP 20 to the correct destinationdevice and that the 2-way audio transmission communicated from the RCP20 through the switch 40 to the destination device was enabled. It willbe appreciated by one of skill in the art that the destination devicemay be any type of device sufficient to verify that the communicationlink through switch 40 was properly established. Furthermore, thedestination device may be located in another service area, anothercellular network or the PSTN, as further described below. In anotherembodiment of the invention, the destination device may be a second orthird wireless phone means located in the RCP 20, whereby upon beingprompted by the controller 10, the RCP 20 establishes a communicationlink from a first phone means located in the RCP 20, through the callingarea switch 40, to the second or third phone means located in the RCP20. In another embodiment of the invention, the destination device maybe a conventional phone means located in the RCP 20, whereby upon beingprompted by the controller 10, the RCP 20 establishes a communicationlink from the wireless phone means located in the RCP 20, through thecalling area switch 40, to a conventional phone means located in the RCP20.

In another embodiment of the present invention, and with continuedreference to FIG. 1, the destination device is a second RCP 30 that isin wireless communication with either the first service area 52 or asecond service area 54 as shown. In this embodiment, the user promptsthe controller to establish a communication link with RCP 20 and RCP 30.The controller then instructs the RCP 20 to initiate a phone call to RCP30 and instructs RCP 30 to expect a phone call. In response to suchinstructions, the RCP 20 attempts to establish a communication linkthrough calling area switch 40 and calling area switch 42 to RCP 30. Ifsuccessful, the RCP 30 sends data to the controller indicating thesuccessful completion of the call at which time the user may verify thatthe call was properly billed by referencing the billing records. If RCP30 does not receive the call within a predetermined period of time, RCP30 will send data to the controller indicating that the call has notbeen received, at which point the user may determine that one or more ofthe switches 40 and 42 did not properly route the call.

A successful call will establish a communication link, resembling acommunication loop, from the controller 10, through RCP 20, calling areaswitch 40, calling area switch 42, and RCP 30 to the controller 10. Asshown in FIG. 1, and as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art,the communication link between the controller 10 and RCPs 20 and 30 maybe comprised of the PSTN 60. Also, the communication link betweencalling area switch 40 and calling area switch 42 may be comprised ofleased lines that at other times may be considered part of the PSTN.

In the communication loop established with a successful call, thecommunication link between RCP 20 and RCP 30 is generally a conventionalwireless telephone link capable of passing audio in either direction.The communication links 22 and 32 between the controller 10 and the RCPs20 and 30, respectively, will be further described below. Generally,however, these communication links may be such that they either passone-way audio or two-way audio depending upon the specific designchosen. Furthermore, the system may have two modes of operation, anon-audio mode and an audio mode. In the non-audio mode, non-audiocontrol and status information may be passed between the controller andeach of the RCPs. In this mode, audio is not used for call verification.Such control and status information may be any type of remote controland status information known in the art. In the non-audio mode, thecontroller will not receive or communicate audio.

In the audio mode, in addition to control and status information beingpassed between the controller and each of the RCPs, audio is also passedbetween the controller 10 and the RCPs 20 and 30. For the embodimentwhere communication links 22 and 32 are one-way audio, when the systemis in the audio mode, audio received at RCP 20 is communicated to thecontroller over communication link 22 and audio generated at thecontroller 10 is communicated to RCP 30 over communication link 32. Inthis mode, audio generated at the controller will be communicated to RCP30 over communication link 32; audio from RCP 30 will be communicated toRCP 20 through calling area switches 42 and 40; and audio from RCP 20will be communicated to the controller 10 over communication link 22,thereby creating a one-way audio loop that begins and ends at thecontroller 10. While in audio mode, the operator can verify that audiois adequately passing from RCP 30 through the calling area switches toRCP 20 by communicating an audio signal from controller 10 overcommunication link 32 to RCP 30 and verifying that such signal isthereafter received at controller 10 over communication link 22.

In the preferred embodiment, the audio signal would be generated by theoperator speaking into a microphone provided with the controller 10, orthrough a pre-recorded text or speech message which may include a textto speech function as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art,the details of which will be further discussed below, and the audiosignal would be received by a speaker provided with the controller 10,thereby enabling the operator to verify the call by simply speaking intoa microphone, or initiating the pre-recorded text or speech message, andlistening to the speaker. In this embodiment, where the communicationlinks 22 and 32 are such that only one-way audio is permitted, thecontroller 10 would be provided with an electronic switch controlled bysoftware residing in the Controller 10, for reversing the path of theaudio loop. By reversing the switch, audio from RCP 30 is communicatedto the controller 10 over communication link 32 and audio from thecontroller is communicated to RCP 20 over communication link 22. In thisembodiment, by reversing the switch, the audio signal generated at thecontroller 10 would be communicated to RCP 20 over communication link 22and thereafter received at controller 10 over communication link 32. Inthis way, the user may quickly verify the proper operation of the switch40 and the quality of the audio passing between the RCPs.

Communications links 22 and 32 and the means for communicating over suchlinks may be any known means for remotely communicating between twodevices over a telecommunications network. In one embodiment, thecontroller and the RCP 20 or 30 include modems and the communicationlinks 22 and 32 are conventional phone lines or wireless communicationlinks. In another embodiment, the communications links 22 and 32 may becomprised of the Internet and the controller 10 and the RCP 20 or 30include voice-over-Internet means for communicating audio over theInternet. In the preferred embodiment, communications links 22 and 32are an internal corporate intranet comprised of an Ethernetcommunication link where the controller 10 and the RCP 20 or 30 includean Ethernet card for passing data over an Intranet via an Ethernetcommunication link and include voice-over-Ethernet means for sendingaudio over the Ethernet Intranet communication link.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the various embodiments of the controller and theRCP of the system of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2a, thecontroller 100 and the RCP 110 are shown. The controller 100 includesremote communication means for establishing a communication link betweenthe controller 100 and the RCP 110. The remote communication means maybe comprised of a conventional computer 102 with a modem 104 forestablishing a communication link between the controller 100 and the RCP110 over a conventional phone line normally associated with the PSTN 105such that the controller 100 can communicate control instructions to theRCP 110 and such that audio can be passed between the RCP 110 and thecontroller 100. The modem 104 and the computer 102 may be any computeror modem known to one of skill in the art to enable such communicationbetween the controller 100 and the RCP 110.

The controller 100 includes means for instructing the RCP 110 whichessentially comprises the modem 104 and conventional software forgenerating and sending control instructions to the controller 110. Suchsoftware for generating such control instructions may be anyconventional or known type of software used for remote communicationsbetween devices, which are generally known in the art. In the preferredembodiment, such software is comprised of a combination of Microsoft“visual basic” and Microsoft “C” software that are compiled to run on astandard Pentium based personal computer. Functionally, a user of thesystem would prompt the controller 100 to instruct the RCP 110 toinitiate a call, whereby the controller 100 would establish acommunication link with the RCP 110 and communicate control data overthe communication link to the RCP 110.

The controller 100 may also include and A/D converter 106 for digitizingthe analog voice received at the controller 100, whereafter suchdigitized voice may be stored in memory 108. Such memory 108 may be anymemory known that is sufficient to store digital audio data.

With continued reference to FIG. 2a, the RCP 20 includes a phone means112, a processor 114, a modem 116, and memory 118. The phone means 112may be a conventional phone or in the preferred embodiment the phonemeans would be a conventional cellular phone. The cellular phone may becapable of communicating in one or more of the types of wirelesscommunication systems such as TDMA, CDMA, NMT, AMPS or GSM. The modem116 enables the communication between the controller 100 and the RCP 110and may be any type of modem available and generally known by one ofskill in the art. In the preferred embodiment the processor 114 is aPentium based processor, and the memory 118 may be of the type generallyknown to those skilled in the art that is sufficient to store digitalaudio data. The modem 116 receives and transmits commands and audiosignals between the controller 100 and the processor 114. The processor114 commands the phone 112 to place and receive calls and interrogatesthe phone 112 for basic information about the call which may includeinformation related to the network performance of a particular call, andthe duration of the call, etc. All information is then processed andsent back to the controller 100 for further interpretation and displayto the user.

FIG. 2b shows another embodiment of the controller 100 and the RCP 110of the system of the present invention. In this embodiment, thecommunication link between the controller 100 and the RCP 110 is that ofa private corporate intranet comprised of an Ethernet communication linkover the Internet. In this embodiment the controller 100 and the RCP 110each have an Ethernet Card 130. The RCP 110 further comprises means fordigitizing audio received from a destination device. Such means mayinclude an A/D and a D/A converter 111 for digitizing the analog audioreceived at the RCP 110 from the destination device and for analogingthe digital audio received at the RCP 110 from the controller 100, ifnecessary. In this embodiment audio and control signals passed betweenthe controller 100 and the RCP 110 are in a digital format and the audioreceived at the RCP 110 is readily stored in the memory 118 of the RCP110 or the memory of the controller 100.

In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2c, the phone means 112located in the RCP 110 comprises three wireless phones 120 and one ormore conventional phones 122. In this embodiment, test calls may beplaced between phones of different RCPs, as described earlier, orbetween phones of the same RCP 110. Additionally, calls may be placed byany one of the phones 112 to any other one of the phones. As a singlecall is place and received within the phone means 112, the audio andcontrol associated with that call will be communicated over the Ethernetmedium to the controller 100.

The RCP 110 may also include means for measuring the quality of theaudio received at the RCP from the destination device. Such means wouldinclude any known means of measuring the signal strength, the signal tonoise ratio and the clarity of the audio received.

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of the system of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 3, the system of the present invention as applied tovarious scenarios encountered in a broad network is shown. As showntherein, for broadest testing capability, an RCP is needed for eachswitch in the network, and in the event that a single switch coversmultiple service areas, an RCP is needed for each service area. It willbe appreciated by one of skill in the art that the system of the presentinvention enables testing of switches of multiple networks form acentralized remote location. As shown in FIG. 3, controller 200 providescentral control of a broad number of RCPs (210, 220, 230, 240, 250 and260) thereby enabling fast efficient testing of multiple switchesthroughout various cellular and land-line networks. Tests may beperformed from any RCP to any destination device which includes testsfrom any RCP to any other RCP. In the preferred embodiment the systemwill have a script testing feature for testing a test call created bythe user in order to ensure that the test call was created properly.

FIGS. 4-13 are flow charts illustrating the general functions of thesoftware that resides in the controller 110. FIG. 4 illustrates thevarious mode options available to a user of the system and FIGS. 5-13illustrate the flow diagrams of each of the individual modes. As statedabove, the controller 110 in the preferred embodiment is comprised of astandard personal computer running the Microsoft Windows NT operatingsystem. The controller functionality includes a methodology for managingcalls (placing and receiving calls and sending and returning audio) inremote areas using one or more RCPs. The basic modes of the controllerfunctionality are as follows: administration mode, login mode,buildingscripts mode, Run Mode, scheduled mode, results mode,interactive mode, maintenance mode, help mode and service step mode.

Administration mode includes a process of allocating user names andselecting passwords. By way of the main user or administrator, userswill be assigned and passwords determined. Through a tieredauthorization system each user will be assigned an authorization levelproviding varying access to controller functionality. These accesslevels are identified as level one, two, and three.

Login mode provides entry into the system by requesting a password fromthe user. It also may demand that the user, for further security, changehis password after every three entries into the system.

The Build scripts mode allows for the building of test calls on thecontroller by way of the application specific software provided therebyoffering the user an implicit method of creating most types of callsthat can be presently made by wireless and landline subscribers today.These test calls are built by listing each of presently 12 commands inthe order required to place a call as needed. These commands are furtherenhanced by additional user entries to select phones and mobile numbersto be used, selection of audio direction and RCP to be used, decision torecord audio and for how long, whether or not to answer the terminatingmobile, and others. As a part of this mode, the test calls can be testedfor accuracy by selecting a call test function that will verify theproper coding of the new test call. Additionally, key words andfunctions within a test call can be modified automatically through astring search and replace command.

In the run mode, the test calls built in the build scripts mode areexecuted. In the run mode, each of the commands or test steps in thelist are executed in sequence thereby allowing the test call to bemanaged by the appropriate RCP/s. In the scheduled mode, the test callsare executed according to a predetermined schedule. In either mode thetest calls are performed identically. However, responses to some of thestimulus from the wireless network may be responded to differentlybetween the two different modes. In run mode an error in placing a callis responded to by stopping the call execution and asking for userintervention. In scheduled mode the same error is noted and the verynext test call is executed and the process continues. In scheduled modeadditional structure is added to allow the user to place a time delaybetween each test call, eliminate predetermined phone numbers from beingdialed, determine the numbers of times an erred call must be retriedupon completion of the first full list completed, and stop the list ofcalls from being executed prematurely.

At the completion of all executed test calls the results of all teststeps executed whether erred or not are stored in the controller'smemory. The controller, in order to determine the performance of eachcall, parses the results. This performance rating is coded and storedwith the results within the controller's memory. This storage includesall one way and two way audio messages received by the controller fromthe selected RCPs. These results are stored in a standard format so thatany standard PC can read or further analyze them.

In the results mode, the user can display, analyze and manipulate theresults of the test calls. In the interactive mode, the user canactivate and use the feature allowing audio to be sent from thecontroller to the RCPs.

In system information mode the user is provided information about keyaspect of the operating system status such as; Software and Hardwarerevision levels, display resolution, time and date. In the maintenancemode, the user may copy stored test call lists and result files to otherareas in memory.

In the configure RCP mode the controller provides a means of configuringeach RCP in the system and the inherent devices within each RCP. Herethe RCP can be named, the cellular phones are configured for their newmobile numbers (NAMs), the cellular phones ESN can be read and thelandline number can be inserted. RCPs can be added or deleted in thismode and the associated IP addresses for each RCP can be programmed intothe RCP.

Service step mode provides the user an opportunity to create programsteps to insert digits and delay between digits into a phone in a RCP.These can be created and named, to be drawn from the standard list ofprogram steps provided in the build scripts mode.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed indetail, the invention is not to be limited thereby, but only by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A telephone switch testing system for testing theoperation of telephone switches that serve a plurality of calling areas,the telephone switch testing system comprising: a test controllerprogrammable to run tests against one or more telephone switches; and aplurality of remote test units connected to and controlled by the testcontroller through respective communication links, each remote test unitserving a calling area and including: a telephone; and a processorconnected to the telephone and being in communication with the testcontroller through the respective communication link, the processorbeing operable to establish a telephone connection to a destinationdevice through a calling area telephone switch, receive audio data fromthe destination device through the established telephone connection, andtransmit the received audio data to the test controller through therespective communication link in order to test the calling areatelephone switch.
 2. The telephone switch testing system according toclaim 1 wherein at least one remote test unit includes a first telephoneand a second telephone both connected to the processor, wherein uponprompting by the test controller, the at least one remote test unitestablishes a telephone connection from the first telephone through thecalling area telephone switch to the second telephone.
 3. The telephoneswitch testing system according to claim 1 wherein the test controlleris programmed to execute test calls according to a predeterminedschedule.
 4. The telephone switch testing system according to claim 3wherein at least a portion of the communication link uses the Internet.5. A telephone switch testing system for testing the operation oftelephone switches that serve a plurality of calling areas, thetelephone switch testing system comprising: a test controllerprogrammable to run tests against one or more telephone switches; and aplurality of remote test units connected to and controlled by the testcontroller through respective communication links, each remote test unitserving a calling area and including: a telephone; and a processorconnected to the telephone and being in communication with the testcontroller through the respective communication link, the processorbeing operable to establish a telephone connection to a destinationdevice through a calling area telephone switch, receive audio data fromthe destination device through the established telephone connection, andtransmit the received audio data to the test controller through therespective communication link in order to test the calling areatelephone switch, wherein at least one remote test unit includes a firsttelephone and a second telephone both connected to the processor,wherein upon prompting by the test controller, the at least one remotetest unit establishes a telephone connection from the first telephonethrough the calling area telephone switch to the second telephone, andwherein a tone generated by the test controller travels through therespective communication link, through the first telephone, through thecalling area telephone switch, through the second telephone, through therespective communication link again and back to the test controller. 6.A telephone switch testing system for testing the operation of telephoneswitches that serve a plurality of calling areas, the telephone switchtesting system comprising: a test controller programmable to run testsagainst one or more telephone switches; and a plurality of remote testunits connected to and controlled by the test controller throughrespective communication links, each remote test unit serving a callingarea and including: a telephone; and a processor connected to thetelephone and being in communication with the test controller throughthe respective communication link, the processor being operable toestablish a telephone connection to a destination device through acalling area telephone switch, receive audio data from the destinationdevice through the established telephone connection, and transmit thereceived audio data to the test controller through the respectivecommunication link in order to test the calling area telephone switch,wherein: the plurality of remote test units includes first and secondremote test units respectively connected to the test controller througha first communication link and a second communication link; and uponprompting by the test controller through the first communication link,the first remote test unit establishes a telephone connection from thefirst remote test unit through the calling area telephone switch to thesecond remote test unit.
 7. The telephone switch testing systemaccording to claim 6 wherein a tone generated by the test controllertravels through the first communication link, through the first remotetest unit, through the calling area telephone switch, through the secondremote test unit, and through the second communication link back to thetest controller.
 8. The telephone switch testing system according toclaim 6 wherein when the first remote test unit establishes thetelephone connection to the second remote test unit, the second remotetest unit sends the audio data to the test controller through the secondcommunication link.
 9. A telephone switch testing system for testing theoperation of telephone switches that serve a plurality of calling areas,the telephone switch testing system comprising: a test controllerprogrammable to run tests against one or more telephone switches; and aplurality of remote test units connected to and controlled by the testcontroller through respective communication links, each remote test unitserving a calling area and including: a telephone; and a processorconnected to the telephone and being in communication with the testcontroller through the respective communication link, the processorbeing operable to establish a telephone connection to a destinationdevice through a calling area telephone switch, receive audio data fromthe destination device through the established telephone connection, andtransmit the received audio data to the test controller through therespective communication link in order to test the calling areatelephone switch, wherein the test controller is operable to provideidentity information to at least one of the telephones of the remotetest units by configuring a NAM and an ESN of the telephones of theremote test units through the respective communication links.
 10. Atelephone switch testing system for testing the operation of telephoneswitches that serve a plurality of calling areas, the telephone switchtesting system comprising: a test controller programmable by a tester torun tests against one or more telephone switches; and a plurality ofremote test units connected to and controlled by the test controllerthrough a communication link, each remote test unit serving a callingarea and including: a telephone; and a processor connected to thetelephone and being in communication with the test controller throughthe communication link, the processor being operable to: establish atelephone connection to a destination device through a calling areatelephone switch when prompted by the test controller through thecommunication link, and receive telecommunications data from thedestination device through the established telephone connection andcommunicate the data regarding the received telecommunications data tothe test controller through the communication link, the path of theestablished telephone connection being different from the communicationslink.
 11. The telephone switch testing system according to claim 10wherein the data regarding the received telecommunications data includean audio signal from the destination device and the received audiosignal is routed to the test controller through the communication link.12. The telephone switch testing system according to claim 10 whereinthe data regarding the received telecommunications data include anon-audio indication that the telephone connection has been successfullyestablished and the non-audio indication is routed to the testcontroller through the communication link.
 13. The telephone switchtesting system according to claim 10 wherein at least one remote testunit includes a first telephone and a second telephone both connected tothe processor, wherein upon prompting by the test controller, the atleast one remote test unit establishes a telephone connection from thefirst telephone through the calling area telephone switch to the secondtelephone.
 14. The telephone switch testing system according to claim 10wherein the test controller is programmed to execute test callsaccording to a predetermined schedule.
 15. The telephone switch testingsystem according to claim 10 wherein at least a portion of thecommunication link uses the Internet.
 16. A telephone switch testingsystem for testing the operation of telephone switches that serve aplurality of calling areas, the telephone switch testing systemcomprising: a test controller programmable by a tester to run testsagainst one or more telephone switches; and a plurality of remote testunits connected to and controlled by the test controller through acommunication link, each remote test unit serving a calling area andincluding: a telephone; and a processor connected to the telephone andbeing in communication with the test controller through thecommunication link, the processor being operable to: establish atelephone connection to a destination device through a calling areatelephone switch when prompted by the test controller through thecommunication link, and receive telecommunications data from thedestination device through the established telephone connection andcommunicate the data regarding the received telecommunications data tothe test controller through the communication link, the path of theestablished telephone connection being different from the communicationslink, wherein at least one remote test unit includes a first telephoneand a second telephone both connected to the processor, wherein uponprompting by the test controller, the at least one remote test unitestablishes a telephone connection from the first telephone through thecalling area telephone switch to the second telephone, and wherein atone generated by the test controller travels through the communicationlink, through the first telephone, through the calling area telephoneswitch, through the second telephone, through the communication linkagain and back to the test controller.
 17. A telephone switch testingsystem for testing the operation of telephone switches that serve aplurality of calling areas, the telephone switch testing systemcomprising: a test controller programmable by a tester to run testsagainst one or more telephone switches; and a plurality of remote testunits connected to and controlled by the test controller through acommunication link, each remote test unit serving a calling area andincluding: a telephone; and a processor connected to the telephone andbeing in communication with the test controller through thecommunication link, the processor being operable to: establish atelephone connection to a destination device through a calling areatelephone switch when prompted by the test controller through thecommunication link, and receive telecommunications data from thedestination device through the established telephone connection andcommunicate the data regarding the received telecommunications data tothe test controller through the communication link, the path of theestablished telephone connection being different from the communicationslink, wherein: the plurality of remote test units includes first andsecond remote test units respectively connected to the test controllerthrough a first communication link and a second communication link; andupon prompting by the test controller through the first communicationlink, the first remote test unit establishes a telephone connection fromthe first remote test unit through the calling area telephone switch tothe second remote test unit.
 18. The telephone switch testing systemaccording to claim 17 wherein a tone generated by the test controllertravels through the first communication link, through the first remotetest unit, through the calling area telephone switch, through the secondremote test unit, and through the second communication link back to thetest controller.
 19. The telephone switch testing system according toclaim 17 wherein when the first remote test unit establishes thetelephone connection to the second remote test unit, the second remotetest unit sends the telecommunications data to the test controllerthrough the second communication link.
 20. A telephone testing systemfor testing the operation of telephone switches that serve a pluralityof calling areas, the telephone switch testing system comprising: a testcontroller programmable by a tester to run tests against one or moretelephone switches; and a plurality of remote test units connected toand controlled by the test controller through a communication link, eachremote test unit serving a calling area and including: a telephone; anda processor connected to the telephone and being in communication withthe test controller through the communication link, the processor beingoperable to: establish a telephone connection to a destination devicethrough a calling area telephone switch when prompted by the testcontroller through the communication link, and receivetelecommunications data from the destination device through theestablished telephone connection and communicate the data regarding thereceived telecommunications data to the test controller through thecommunication link, the path of the established telephone connectionbeing different from the communications link, wherein the testcontroller is operable to provide identity information to at least oneof the telephones of the remote test units by configuring a—NAM and anESN of the telephones of the remote test units through the respectivecommunication links.
 21. A telephone switch testing system for testingthe operation of telephone switches that serve a plurality of callingareas, the telephone switch testing system comprising: a test controllerprogrammable to run tests against one or more telephone switches; and aplurality of remote test units connected to and controlled by the testcontroller through respective communication links, each remote test unitserving a calling area and including: a telephone; and a processorconnected to the telephone and being in communication with the testcontroller through the respective communication link, the processorbeing operable to establish a telephone connection to a destinationdevice through a calling area telephone switch, receive audio data fromthe destination device through the established telephone connection, andtransmit the received audio data to the test controller through therespective communication link in order to test the calling areatelephone switch, and, wherein the test controller is operable toprovide identity information to at least one of the telephones of theremote test units.
 22. The telephone switch testing system according toclaim 21 wherein the test controller is operable to provide identityinformation to at least one of the telephones of the remote test unitsby providing a subscriber identifier.
 23. The telephone switch testingsystem according to claim 21 wherein the test controller is operable toprovide identity information to at least one of the telephones of theremote test units by providing a subscriber identifier in the form of amobile identification number (MIN).
 24. A telephone switch testingsystem for testing the operation of telephone switches that serve aplurality of calling areas, the telephone switch testing systemcomprising: a test controller programmable by a tester to run testsagainst one or more telephone switches; and a plurality of remote testunits connected to and controlled by the test controller through acommunication link, each remote test unit serving a calling area andincluding: a telephone; and a processor connected to the telephone andbeing in communication with the test controller through thecommunication link, the processor being operable to: establish atelephone connection to a destination device through a calling areatelephone switch when prompted by the test controller through thecommunication link, and receive telecommunications data from thedestination device through the established telephone connection andcommunicate the data regarding the received telecommunications data tothe test controller through the communication link, the path of theestablished telephone connection being different from the communicationslink, wherein the test controller is operable to provide identityinformation to at least one of the telephones of the remote test units.25. The telephone switch testing system according to claim 24 whereinthe test controller is operable to provide identity information to atleast one of the telephones of the remote test units by providing asubscriber identifier.
 26. The telephone switch testing system accordingto claim 24 wherein the test controller is operable to provide identityinformation to at least one of the telephones of the remote test unitsby providing a subscriber identifier in the form of a mobileidentification number (MIN).